As a Finance Manager, you have very little time to make a good first impression. And that impression is likely formed by the customer before they get to your office. They form their opinions when they’re watching you with other customers or even months earlier when they were sitting in the service department, eavesdropping on a conversation between you and the sales manager.

We like to use the phrase, "It’s not what you say but how you say it". And while statistics agree (only 8% of communication has to do with words), you’d better be careful when using dealer slang to describe customers. Consider the chart below:

TERMINOLOGY
1. Croak and Choke - Credit Life and Disability
2. Buried or Upside Down - Negative Equity
3. Roach - A person with bad credit
4. Mop and Glow - Paint protection
5. Pull or Bump the Trade - Remove trade from deal to go repo
6. Held Back on Trade - ACV is higher than allowed in deal
7. Hammer a Check - Take to bank for certified funds
8. Add Equipment to the deal - Show removable eq to improve carry
9. Bird Dog - Fee given for referral business
10. Laid Away - Took advantage of the customer
11. Home Run or Soak or Flag Pole - A huge deal big gross abuse
12. Straw Purchase - A person purchasing for another

Choosing to use some of these words in describing customers or aspects of a deal could cause you to lose business. Consider how a customer feels when you describe them as a “roach”. Or how do you think they’ll react when you suggest that their winter job must include working for Santa Claus because their trade-in could double as a "sled"?

At Auto University, we work hard to provide you with tools that are customer focused. Surprisingly, these tools also help you make more money and create more repeat business. So what are you waiting for? Enroll as a student in one of our many courses today!